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"In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week (September 23-30), the American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top 10 most challenged books from 2000-2005, with the Harry Potter series of books leading the pack." (from an ALA press release)

Harry Potter, oh give me a break. But people do feel that the books promote witchcraft and demon worship. Is Harry Potter E-V-I-L?

In Should Schools Ban Harry Potter for Promoting Witchcraft? by Barbara McCuen (June 15, 2000) at SpeakOut.com

There are many reasons for not banning Harry Potter books, but perhaps the most important one is that in an era where children would rather play video games than play outside or watch TV instead of read a book, the young wizard and his friends have magically engaged millions of kids in reading. And the lessons taught in the book;overcoming adversity, good vs. evil, self-sufficiency, courage;are appropriate for all children.

To ban the magical and fantastical is to ban all fairy tales. Children recognize the difference between fantasy and reality. Banning Harry Potter will expose children to something far more harmful than sorcery ignorance.

I couldn’t say it better myself.

So dear reader, how do you feel about banning Harry Potter or any other children’s book?

Technorati tags: children’s books, Banned Books Week, Harry Potter

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is the next book in our Banned Books Week tour. If my memory serves me, I read this back in sophmore or junior year of high school. I remember wondering what the big deal was about. In retrospect, I think it was because it completely went over my head.

Yet that’s all I can remember. Don’t you hate it when you know you’ve read something, yet have no recollection of it? Luckily, there’s lots of information about the book, like a SparkNotes plot overview and study guide.

Wikipedia’s section on the controversy surrounding the book sent shivers down my spine because of mention of Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon. Chapman was obsessed with The Catcher in the Rye and personally indentified with it:

As John and Yoko passed by, and entered the archway entrance of the building’s courtyard, Chapman dropped into a military firing stance and called out, "Mr. Lennon!" As Lennon turned to see who had called his name, Chapman shot him five times with hollow point rounds from a Charter Arms .38 revolver he had purchased in Hawaii.

Lennon was declared dead at 11:15 p.m. after losing more than eighty percent of his blood. Chapman sat down on the sidewalk and began reading what appeared to be a portion of The Catcher in the Rye after firing his shots, and was arrested without incident.

Damn. I have vivid memories of the night John Lennon was shot (I was a huge Beatles fan) and watching the coverage on Monday Night Football with my parents. But I don’t remember this book. A connection? Maybe. Even so, it may be time to reread The Catcher in the Rye.

• Other cultural references
• J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly - by Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post (October 19, 2004) - The Post’s book critic reconsiders notable and/or neglected books from the past

(Click here for more YA novel reviews.)

Technorati tags: children’s books, Banned Books Week, Catcher in the Rye

Our next choice during Banned Books Week is the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, which have been challenged due to anti-family content, being unsuited to age group, and violence.

Please folks, stop taking things so seriously. Captain Underpants features cartoons, scatalogical humor, potty jokes, imaginary super heroes, and lots of fun made at teachers’ and parents’ expense, i.e., all the stuff that kids LOVE and gobble up with relish.

I came across the books six years ago at Thanksgiving dinner at our friend Russell’s mother home. His nephew was reading Captain Underpants And The Perilous Plot Of Professor Poopypants. All us grownups passed the book around to find out what name Professor Poopypants would assign us. Since my full name is Anne-Marie Nichols, my new silly name is:

Nice.

The kids and the adults (including the retired teacher who was a bit scandalized that Scholastic would print "such trash") had a tough time not laughing every time we came up with a new name combination. Now that Russell has passed away, when I see a Captain Underpants book I smile, remembering this wonderful evening and how he laughed and joked with his nephew.

So dear readers, get out your copy of Captain Underpants And The Perilous Plot Of Professor Poopypants or go to Scholastic’s Professor Poopy Pants’ Name Change-O-Chart 2000. Find out YOUR new silly name and let me know what it is in the comment area below.

Technorati tags: children’s books, Banned Books Week, Captain Underpants

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week, I’m starting off my book picks with one of the 10 most challenged books - Judy Blume’s Forever. First, let’s get the silly part out of the way…

RALPH.

Doesn’t that remind you of reading all the naughty bits of Forever during eighth grade recess ? If not, you’ve missed out on a major right of passage in many American girl’s lives. Forever was THE book to read in junior high for both me and my five-years-younger sister. We couldn’t say the word "Ralph" without going into a major giggle fit. It still makes me smile.

And if you haven’t a clue, I’m not going to tell you. Instead go to the library and pick up a copy of Forever today. Here’s the Amazon.com review:

"Going all the way" is still a taboo subject in young adult literature. Judy Blume was the first author to write candidly about a sexually active teen, and she’s been defending teenagers’ rights to read about such subjects ever since. Here, Blume tells a convincing tale of first love–a love that seems strong and true enough to last forever. Katherine loves Michael so much, in fact, that she’s willing to lose her virginity to him, and, as the months go by, it gets harder and harder for her to imagine living without him. However, something happens when they are separated for the summer: Katherine begins to have feelings for another guy. What does this mean about her love for Michael? What does this mean about love in general? What does "forever" mean, anyway? As always, Blume writes as if she’s never forgotten a moment of what it’s like to be a teenager.

As parents, we should be helping our teens know about the consequences of having sex before they actually do it.  Forever is a great book to give your daughter - or son - along with a good book on sexuality, the reproductive system, STDs, birth control, and puberty. After they read  Forever TALK with them about it. Talk about feelings. Talk about consequences. Talk about double standards.

Then listen what your teen or tweenager has to say.

(Click here for more YA novel reviews.)

Technorati tags: children’s books, Banned Books Week, Judy Blume

Not only is it Banned Books Week, it’s the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite literary celebrations! I’ll be blogging about some of my favorite banned books all week, so check back often.

I take book banning very seriously both as a parent, a writer, and as a board member of a public charter school. Parents cannot dictate what other people’s children can or cannot read by asking the school or a librarian to "freeze" or limit access to a book just because they don’t like it and don’t want their children reading it.

Children have full first amendment rights. Librarians cannot tell a child that something is inappropriate - even if you ask them to. It’s up to the parent to review what the child is checking out and taking home.

To find out more read the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics, Kids and Libraries: What You Should Know, Minor’s Rights under the First Amendment, and Notable First Amendment Cases. All parents should be familiar with this information.

Finally, it’s nearly impossible to outright ban a book. Books are challenged mostly by parents. They must prove that a book is either legally obscene or of no educational value. And as the proponents of the Captain Underpants series can tell you, if it gets children to read, it’s educational.

So during Banned Books Week, head down to your local library with the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books list to celebrate. Check out a few old favorites and discover some new ones as well. And while you’re at it, take the Banned Books Week Celebrating the Freedom to Read Proclamation:

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy, and reading is among our greatest freedoms; and

WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of that freedom, and the right to privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one’s interest examined or scrutinized by others; and

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is protected by our Constitution; and

WHEREAS some individuals, groups, and public authorities work to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries of materials reflecting the diversity of society; and

WHEREAS, both governmental intimidation and the fear of censorship cause authors who seek to avoid controversy to practice self-censorship, thus limiting our access to new ideas; and

WHEREAS, every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of American society and leaves it less able to deal with controversy and difference; and

WHEREAS, Americans still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression, and can be trusted to exercise critical judgment, to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe, and to exercise the responsibilities that accompany this freedom; and

WHEREAS, intellectual freedom is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture; and

WHEREAS, conformity limits the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend; and

WHEREAS, the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year as a reminder to Americans not to take their precious freedom for granted; and

WHEREAS, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that A Readable Feast celebrates the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, September 23-September 30, 2006, and be it further

RESOLVED, that A Readable Feast encourages all libraries and bookstores to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society; and be it further

RESOLVED, that A Readable Feast encourages free people to read freely, now and forever.

Adopted by A Readable Feast on September 25, 2006 in Firestone, Colorado

Technorati tags: children’s books, Banned Books Week